Bill Clinton: "I'll Do Whatever They Want"

The New York Observer reports:

Bill Clinton said he'd do "whatever they want" with respect to the vetting process and information he'd have to disclose to the Obama administration to help Hillary Clinton become Obama's secretary of state.

Standing on stage and signing autographs after a ceremony to rename the Triborough Bridge after the late Robert F. Kennedy, Clinton was asked about the vetting process.

"Whatever they want. This is a deal between Senator--" he corrected himself, "President-elect [Obama] and Hillary," Clinton said. "You should talk to them. I'll do whatever they want."

That jibes with reports this morning that the former President had offered "several concessions" as part of the vetting process.

Comments

[Crozier]

I came back after a few tours, went inactive reserve, and went to law school. It was then that I met a Canadian Anglican priest, later bishop. In 1975 we met, and a year later, we committed ourselves to each other, and 32 years later, we still are together....and more, married in his Canada in 2003. We have a six year old toddler that we are raising.

As a young attorney, I became involved in LBGTactivism. I was careful, always careful, for Nigel's sake, (and yes....I became an Anglican, or here, Episcopalian). I was also a reserveJAG and retired O-5. I saw the medical community finally admit that we were simply another healthy psychosexual orientation, and over time, I saw so do my laws repealed, and someChristian denominations stood up and became affirming of our spiritual health.

Youwant to know why I so dislike the Clinton "legacy"..­.DOMAandDA­DT were punitive to my community. The former is unconstitutional and the latter is based on pseudo military science. The GOPtold us they would harm us, and work against our health and happiness, but BillandHill said that they cared, and they did not, and we know it.

I do not expect much from BarackObama where my civil rights are concerned. I would love to be surprised, but there are too many neolibs and neocons who hate us, and wish us ill. I nevertheless gave him the maximum allowable twice....bundled more....and voted and volunteered....and now this.

[Quotidien]

How about taking an 8-year sabbatical?

[Crozier]

Quotidien.....je rigole.....

[Crozier]

First of all, I listen to alternative television, read alternative and foreign press, and listen to Rachel and Keith on MSNBC. The others are not on my DirecTV choices - by choice.

I understand politics. I graduated Philips Andover Academy and Harvard....and then for "rebellious change", I then - after a period as a platoon butterbar turned silver in Nam - I went to Yale Law. I was born in a Plymouth MA family of WASP Congregationalists - Puritans who came to these shores to avoid Anglicans and to create their own theocracy (LOL) - and of course, to keep the Republican Party pure of immigrants pouring into New England...­..especial­ly those Irish Catholics.

I was different. I was a gay man when the Medical Community called me sick, and the Law called me a Criminal; and the Church called me a so dom ite. I could "pass" since I was athletic and militaristic
...and I joined the ROTC. In 1966, I had my first gay affair. He was a liberal and an activist ahead of his time. I guess that pillow talk turned me into a ......Demo­crat....an­d a liberal. In 1968, I graduated and was commissioned and went to Nam. We parted ways. I still wanted to serve my country even though I had heart for RFK and voted HHH. I KNOW ABOUT CHANGE....

continued

[concernvoter]

I applaud Bill and Hillary for helping Obama out during the election. Now it has gone too far with the Clintons. I really do believe that Hillary is still in doubt after losing against Obama. I know this is all about politics, but it shouldn't go this far. I hope Obama just pay Hillary's debts off and let her go back to New York and pick up where she left off with her work. The spot light have ran them d*** crazy!

[ella52]

I think entirely too many people on this post are back to watching Faux News. Gosh the conspiracy ideas abound. Try PBS so you get the facts and history before you go looking for the slime under every rock.
There aren't many Dem politicians who aren't at least in passing connected to the Clinton admin; he was our last Dem president.
His foundation, for all the yelling and squealing about the financing of, has kept million of people from the ravages of poverty, AIDS, malaria and advanced the education and lives of women around the world. He has over the past eight years continued to be a respected and beloved American abroad when our cache globally has plummeted. He could be more transparent... I agree.
Finally Obama needs to hit the road running come Jan. 20... how do people expect him to do that if he appointed people who have no Executive Branch experience.

[Crozier]

IS THAT IT? IF REAL LIBERAL DEMOCRATS CRITICIZE THE MAN WE GAVE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AND WORKED AND VOTED FOR......AND HE, IN OUR MEASURED AND REASONED OPINION, IS BETRAYING HIMSELF WITH MISPLACED COMPASSION AND GRATITUDE....AND YOU YELLOW DOGS DLC HILLBOTS DO NOT APPRECIATE IT.....WELL TOUGH !!!!

[ella52]

Ain't no yellow dog, just trying to be reasonable. Which, along with your overuse of CAPS, is something that criticizing his every move before he has even been sworn in, does not seem reasonable. I just don't think the HillBill clan is the root cause of all evil. She works hard, he does too, something we haven't seen loooow these past eight years as the fat cat rethugs sat on their a$$es and transfered wealth to themselves!

[Sundialsvc4]

(shrug...)

"Professional cooperation" is not "concession." It's being a professional at what you do.

[sunny555]

I don't see a thread about Hillary as SOS so I'm going to post here.

I am getting angrier and angrier at this woman. IMO, she is showing disrespect to Obama in not making a decision. It's playing out in the media.....as always, everything is about Hillary. Somehow, she always brings the spotlight back to herself.

[bettybp]

Hillary (and Bill) have always loved the spotlight. No Drama Obama with Hillary (and Bill) who never miss a spotlight opportunity doesn't seem a good match. While she has many great qualities, she hogs the spotlight, upstaging everyone. Note that O's well oiled political machine always springs Cintonian leaks where both Hillary and Bill are concerned. As SOS, how well would she promote O's policies rather than follow her own agenda?

[sunny555]

Yes, you are exactly right. Where did this leak come from? I think we all know the answer to that. She wants this out there because it gives her the upper hand -- by taking all this time to decide, she is showing the world she does not jump for anyone, not even the P.E. Her ego is simply too big. I cannot see her working for anybody, let alone the man who defeated her in the primaries.

The truth is, many people were happy to have a choice besides Hill and eagerly jumped on the Obama bandwagon when the correctly perceived him to be the far superior choice in terms of temperament and selflessness. This latest Hill drama bears that out

[Sundialsvc4]

Is she, now? Or is this the Press being anxious for another headline? We are talking, not only about leaving the Senate, but becoming Secretary of State in one of the most diplomatically horrible times this country has ever faced. (And many of the criminals have been re-elected.) So... of course you are going to go home and smoke-it-over.

As the wife of a two-term President, and a Senator (so far), she knows full-well just what a weighty decision this is. In some ways, SOFS is a =much= more challenging role than POTUS.

[Crozier]

IS SHE? NO, ARE THEY? BILL AND HILL, YES......THEY ARE STRETCHING IT OUT TO SEE WHO GIVES IN MORE.....OBAMA OR THE SENATE LEADERSHIP.....

[HurryUp1212009]

Obama ought to cut his losses NOW and name Bill Richardson Secretary of State THIS WEEKEND, to end this CLINTON CIRCUS; or he's going to have to put up with the HillBilly side-show for the next 4 years. This is a FARCE!

[Crozier]

A STORY....

" Hey Mr. President-elect, this is Podesta......Rahm and I were just talking and thought that Hillary should be offered secretary of state?" " But what about Bill and his library and foundation and speeches?" "Doesn't Hillary want to stay in the Senate....it's her seat for as long as she wants."

"Yes, well maybe you're right, Barack, but you should give her the right of first refusal.....and think how those liberals in the party and on the blogs who will be pissed that you're not one of them."
Think, Mr. President-­elect.....­you saw the Time Magazine cover....they want you to be liberal FDR..but you are the reincarnation of Abraham Lincoln, and he would appoint Hillary."

"I don't know, Podesta.....what do you think Rahm.....can I offer it to Hill and Bill will fudge on the vetting?" " Yes, Barack, you see that you are politically safe regardless of outcome."

OKAY, LEAK IT.....

[Crozier]

THE NEOLIBS ARE IN CONTROL AND ARE READY TO BED DOWN WITH THE NEOCONS. KUMBAYA MY CORPORATIONS KUMBAYA.....

[campgranata]

gee, Bill, will you tell the truth?

[Crozier]

BILL CLINTON THE TWOFER WITH HILLARY.....WOULD NOT KNOW THE TRUTH IF IT BIT HIM.

[campgranata]

And I hope it does.

[RollMac]

The Question is: WHY

Why is Bill Clinton so desperate to see his wife Secretary of State? How will her appointment profit him? (Because the danger with the Clintons is that you get two for the price of one.)

[LangstonA]

During the 60 minutes interview Barack Obama said he'd been reading Lincoln's writings. During the presidential campaign Fresh Air With Terry Gross had on this Lincoln historian who was saying that Lincoln did a very politically savvy thing by putting his rivals in positions in his cabinet. Maybe Barack is looking to the examples of great presidents for ideas on how to run his presidency.

[partyofone]

Tom Friedman, who really understands interantional politics, says the LAST place a respident needs a rival is in the position of Secretary of State. If Obama makes this appointment, he will have a multitude for rivals in the State Deparment, including Bill and Hillary, the cronies they appoint as staff members, and their friends and donors appointed to slots as ambasadors.

Everyone vetting Hillary Clinton is a former Clinton White House appointee. Rahm Emanuel owes the Clintons, too. The cabinet posts so far are warmed over Clintonistas.

Obama seems to be giving Bill Clinton his third term. If so, this is not what the American people elected him to do

[Crozier]

To liberal and progressive Democrats, the reasoning is that succinct.....and for the conservative or DLC or Yellow Dog Democrats who were second string Clinton appointments and now head the Obama government....the third Clinton term is ready to start....for the very reasons partyofone just stated. Kudos.

[HurryUp1212009]

Putting HillBilly in a high profile, international position is NOT a Lincoln-esque good idea, it's a DUMB idea. Bill Clinton is only looking out for ONE PERSON and that person is Bill Clinton. He wants to upstage Obama, and using his wife as a proxy will enable him to do just that. STUPID IDEA, Bill Richardson is far better qualified, and has no such baggage.

[dajay]

President Bill Clinton does not need to upstage Barack Obama.

He is an ex-8-year, successful, Dem president.

He has his own legacy, he won't need BO's, if he indeed gets one himself.

[Abo]

Rivals for the presidency, but not a whole lot of difference policy-wise--except Clinton may be more foolishly hawkish concerning foreign policy. So who does Obama float (if it is Obama at all --he may have lost control of these strategically placed leaks and what does that say about the Clinton's manipulation?)? The person least suited to be in charge.
The idea of rivals is little more than romantic diversion to obscure the truth that it is the usual suspects with the same policies running the show and the very furthest thing from change.

[FACINGREALIT]

I'll release anything you want but:

The complete list of donors to my library
The real amount I charge for speeches
The amount of money I've received as bribes
The name of the last woman I slept with nor the date
How much money I have in offshore accounts
The list of pardons promised when Hillary was suppose to be elected president

I'll release everything else.

[partyofone]

Where the "loans" to Hillary's campaign from our personal bank account actually came from.

How many of the Clinton Global INitiative projects have a quid pro quo buiness angle for Bill and Hillary. For example, does the focus on AIDS in AFrica involve kickbacks from the windfall for selected drug companies?

[Crozier]

The Neocons we defeated will return in strength if Hillbill become the SOS together. The real GOP slime machine will go after the Clintons again on the sleazy stuff...their open marriage and their dalliances­....altern­ative for her and consistent for him..... and all the bribes and hundreds of millions everywhere......but it is with them always the inability to reel in greed and s e x .

Neoliberals and neoconservatives are simply two sides to the same coin....for the Corporatists and Lobbyists who control them....

[frenchie25]

President Clinton:

Your stewardship guided our country through eight years of peace and prosperity. My family and I were MUCH better off during your presidency than we have been under BOTH BUSHES. So, I just want to take this opportunity to thank you for all that you have done and continue to do through your Global Initiative. I doubt you read this blog...it has become such a cess pool of hatred. But on the off-chance that you do, I would like you to know that there are some of us out here who think of you with great fondness and with thanks for making this country and the world a better place. These last sixteen years have proven what good and bad leadership can do to a nation.

Your wife is a brilliant woman. Her intelligence, toughness and resiliancy are awe inspiring. We wish her godspeed in the days and years ahead, whether as PE Obama's Sect'y of State or NY's Senator.

Neither of you deserve the flack you get, especially here on these pages.

[FACINGREALIT]

Hillary and Bill are Bush-Lites!

[Crozier]

Yes, they are Corporate-enabling Democrats who took the Democratic Party and stripped it of their liberal and progressive ideology....and brought in centrist pragmatism. That is why Tony Bliar was so enamoured of him....he did the same to the UK Labour Party.

Podesta, Rahm et al....are all more than mere Clinton appointments. Clinton appointed outright neocon Republicans in his administration. But....he made sure that ALL the Dems were DLC or Yellow Dog. Real Democrats are anathema to them. The doctrinaire Republicans run their party....pragmatic individuals with charisma own ours.

[dajay]

Now that claim is about the most idiotic I see on this blog.

[campgranata]

'Your wife is a brilliant woman. Her intelligence, toughness and resiliency are awe inspiring.'

No, Bill, for all of his immature behavior, is brilliant: his wife is well educated. but thank god for her intelligence for it really helped her make the tough decisions that brought her from the heights of inevitability to a well deserved defeat. Her toughness is more stubbornness and a resistance to view reality (I know I can when it is clear you can't). Her resiliency is the result of her stubbornness and I would bet a modicum of Crown Royal and a pharmacological intervention.

[partyofone]

There is no difference in the Bushes and the Clintons, just the minor detail of party affiliation. The peace and prosperity you describe was an illusion. Americans were seduced into investing heavily in the stock market, life savings, retirement funds, college funds.... and after Wall Street makes trillions, it all evaporates. Why? Because of the financial industry deregulation BILL CLINTON signed into law.

Add to that NAFTA and the severe erosion of American jobs, the huge influx of illegal Aliens, the growth and strengthing of al qaeda worldwide.. Bush is president and has made matters much worse, but Bill Clinton's fingerprints are all over our current crises.

And the Clintons, they cashed out. Since leaving office, Bill has collected mega-millions in "speaking and consulting fees" from the corporate interests he served in his presidency. Quid pro quo? Interesting that the Clintons have THRIVED in the Bush years, while the nation has suffered. By accident or plan?

[Crozier]

The spin is pure DLC.....for there is not a dime's worth of difference between a neo-liberal and a neo-conser­vative....­if they cut taxes on federal level, the shortfall means that the states and local governments increase theirs. It is bait and switch politics.

Where did they agree and both do the same thing? Simple, they removed corporate regulations and controls.....they provided monopolies to the right wing in media....aural, visual and print.....and they removed the social net for the poorest among us....and made our children vulnerable to single parents who had to find underemployment rather than stay home and care for children..­...childre­n are now sociopathically neurotic and failing in greater numbers.....

The hope for Obama is another FDR and HST and JFK and LBJ.....a bold new New Deal or Fair Deal or New Frontier or Great Society.......not more Corporatism.

[Crozier]

IF HE DESTROYS THE POTENTIAL OF ANOTHER FDR AND A SAVING PROGRESSIVE ERA TO UNDO CORPORATE NEO-LIBERALISM UNDER REAGAN AND HE AND THE BUSHES, THEN YES A BIG YES,,,,FOR ALL THE DRAMA HE WILL HAVE IN DESTROYING OBAMA AND PROMOTING HIS RESTORATION OF THE THRONE.

[dajay]

frenchie25: Your post says exactly what I feel myself.

You said it the best I have seen here about both President Clinton and Hillary Clinton.

I agree. I will always remember President Clinton fondly and those 8 years with he and VP Gore.

I attended their first inauguration and I will never forget it.

[Eriq]

Personally, I continue to appreciate Obama's brilliance. The man really is somewhat a political genius, and Hillary's service under his leadership will be also brilliant.
Oh, and... the best part is the agreement that good ol' Bill will just have to sit by and shut up his pouting little mouth.
Obama and his campaign have already made history, and he's going to continue to make history by completely pulling the Washington establishment by the tail and making it spin to his rhythm!

[partyofone]

From my perspective, nominating the Clintons to the cabinet is the same as if Obama was considering bringing Alberto Gonzalez back as AG, to right the wrongs. It would be laughable.

So is the suggestion that the dishonest Clintons should have a cabinet post, and will be loyal followers of Obama's leadership. It will never happen, and much daily drama will ensue.

[campgranata]

good analogy, and they are laughable.

[Eriq]

Hey, Bill, will you smoke a cigar and give them a b.j.?

[dajay]

Eriq; Still obsessed over BC private parts and s. life.

Wow it has been over 10 years and you are still getting off on it.

Pathetic